NBA Playoffs: The Silver Lining

In more ways than one, this season has sucked too. The refereeing has been abysmal, the displays of talent haven’t been much better and the injuries have piled up. And that all sucks. But after a Wednesday night docket laden with excitement, we come to the realization that there is a certain beauty to this ugly looking, truncated schedule.

Andrew Bynum grabbed 30 rebounds Wednesday, furthering the notion that he has finally developed into a star. Obviously, a large part of that is his maturation as an athlete, but lets not overlook that he’s 24, and despite being injury prone, has a clear advantage over the plethora of aging low post players.

Let’s also not neglect to acknowledge the new levels of unpredictability the NBA has reached. While the outcomes in the past have been anything but predictable, this year, the lockout-ugly style of play and officiating has truly taken the science out of it, instead employing a little concept known as “guess work.”

Of course, we will all assume that the Heat are going to dismantle a team like the Wizards, but there has never been more of a chance that a team like Miami will show up for a game dressed like the Bobcats, rendering what should be an easy win, a competitive affair.

Is that awesome? Is it despicable? A case can be made for either, but regardless of which side of the fence you stand on, such a reality is fascinating to watch unfold.

But that’s not the most fascinating reality of all. That belongs to the playoff race.

The season is only 66 games long, meaning that both the owners and players took a financial hit. And it also means that every game has been a little more important and a little less irrelevant in the scheme of things.

Take a look at the Western Conference. Their playoff picture is usually far more exciting than that of the Eastern Conference’s, but this year has been something else. Just 4.5 games separates the sixth and 11th seeds, and that’s absolutely crazy. Mathematically, albeit unlikely, with less than 10 games remaining, there’s still an opportunity for the 11th seed to sneak into the playoffs.

Let that sink in, and cherish it, because like the NBA’s teams, we have to take any victories we can get at this point.

As for the East, once again, their playoff picture is more solidified than the West’s, yet there’s more than a hint of excitement.

This is the Eastern Conference, the conference where the playoff order has been essentially set in stone by the All-Star break over the past few years. But not this season. Not only are we witness to the Bucks, Knicks and Sixers all attempting to latch themselves on to one of those two final playoff spots, but outside of the first and second seeds, the order is far from determined.

Normally, in the East, that’s pathetic, but not this season; this time around there is a better than average chance that every team who clinches a playoff berth in the East will have a record of .500 or better. Crazy, right?

Outside of the playoff races, we have a handful of aging Cinderella stories in the Lakers, Celtics and Spurs. We also have superstar powerhouses with their backs up against the wall in the Knicks, Clippers, Heat and Thunder. We’ve also seen how talented teams truly are, as more than some have battled through the compressed schedule with a superstar or two on the shelf for an extensive period of time.

And that’s in addition to the sudden claims to fame in Bynum, James Harden and the ever inspiring Jeremy Lin.

Out of breath?

This season has been ugly. It’s been inconsistent, as grueling to watch as it has been to play and served as a reminder for all that is wrong with professional sports.

But it’s also been a sound representation of all that is still right with the game of basketball.